The Office of the Maryland Public Defender needs $28 million to comply with a court ruling that requires indigent defendants have lawyer at bail hearings. Prosecutors say it will cost local governments $83 million more.

We need to comply with this decision, Maryland Public Defender Paul DeWolfe told the House Judiciary Committee Thursday. We are an agency that represents approximately 220,000 clients with a staff of 535 attorneys. There about 500,000 hours of hearing time that need to be staffed.

DeWolfe won a decision in the Maryland Court of Appeals, DeWolfe v. Richmond, in early January that enforces a provision in Maryland Public Defender Act, which requires indigent persons be represented by counsel when appearing before a district court commissioner. DeWolfe asked the legislature for a $3.5 million emergency request to comply with the courts ruling by Feb. 3. The Court of Appeals denied his request to stay the decision until funding was available for staffing and logistics.

DeWolfe also said the costs would run $25 million annually.

County prosecutors object to costs

County prosecutors throughout Maryland say the decision will put an additional $83 million burden on local governments because they will need to staff prosecutors for 180,000 hearings to protect the public interest and provide logistics.

There are already tons of protections that have been built into the system that have been working for 30 years, Baltimore County States Attorney Scott Shellenberger said. He said the state has always been able to facilitate a public defender within 24 hours of arrest.

The Appeals court ruling is an unfunded mandate that will stretch the law enforcement resources of every part of the state, Shellenberger said. If you think the fiscal note from the Public Defenders Office is high, wait until you have to double the number of district court judges in the state. He said that having an attorney present at bail hearings would add countless man-hours to the process and further overcrowd detention centers.

Douglas Colbert, a professor at the University of Maryland law school, worked on the case and testified in favor of funding compliance with the statutebecause it would save the state money as well as protect Sixth Amendment rights to counsel. He said that nonviolent defendants are 2 ½ times more likely to be released when represented by a lawyer, as opposed to a nonviolent offender without an attorney. Nonviolent offenders, who could not make bail, cost the state $4,500 over 30 daysas they wait for a second mandatory bail review.

Colbert said 90% of defendants brought before a court commissioner are nonviolent offenders.

Under state law, police cannot hold a defendant for more than 24 hours without a bail hearing and access to counsel.

Del. Michael Smigiel, R-Cecil, asked Colbert if it would be unconstitutional to eliminate commissioners hearings and have defendants appear before a judge within the 24-hour window. He said the fiscal challenges may require eliminating the commissioner process altogether.

Colbert said eliminating the commissioners hearing would not violate Sixth Amendment protections.